What it’s about: On the trail of an aristocrat’s secret son, enquiry agent Mark Braglewicz finds his quarry in music hall, performing as a trapeze artist with his twin sister. Graceful, beautiful, elusive, and strong, Pen Starling is like nobody Mark’s ever met—and everything he’s ever wanted. But the long-haired acrobat has an earldom and a fortune to claim.
Pen doesn’t want to live as any sort of man, least of all a nobleman. The thought of being wealthy, titled, and always in the public eye is horrifying. He likes his life now—his days on the trapeze, his nights with Mark. And he won’t be pushed into taking a title that would destroy his soul.
But there’s a killer stalking London’s foggy streets, and more lives than just Pen’s are at risk. Mark decides he must force the reluctant heir from music hall to manor house, to save Pen’s neck. Betrayed by the one man he thought he could trust, Pen never wants to see his lover again. But when the killer comes after him, Pen must find a way to forgive—or he might not live long enough for Mark to make amends.
Why you should read it: This is the third book in KJ Charles’ terrific historical Romantic Suspense series, Sins of the Cities, and the one novel that ties up the threads of the two prior books. So if you haven’t read those (An Unseen Attraction and An Unnatural Vice), I highly suggest starting the series at the beginning if only to understand the overarching murder-mystery thread. This particular novel focuses on the culmination of that murder-mystery as well as the relationship between a one-armed private detective named Mark and a genderqueer heir to an earldom named Pen. As the story begins, Mark is on the hunt to locate a missing heir and when he finally finds him, Pen is performing as a trapeze artist in a nightclub and most unwilling to go back to the life of luxury he once led. Their romance and resulting relationship develops organically as the book progresses. With a killer on the loose, Pen and Mark must use everything at their disposal to throw him off while also trying to maintain their relationship. KJ Charles uses her ample skill as an author to craft a realistic world full of mystery and intrigue peopled with fully fleshed out secondary characters and a sizzling attraction and romance between two people so very much in need of love. This three book series is a knockout.